Before She Knew
by crazytomboy78
Summary: When Pepper goes on and on to Tony about how awesome Iron Man is, Tony freaks, because she doesn't know he's Iron Man. What will happen when she finds out? Pepperony! WARNING:this whole story is very romanticcc! : based on Whiplash episode. : R&R pleez!


**Hey peoples! This isn't going to be too long, it's just a really short story. It starts to fall into place with the episode Whiplash.**

**I own nothing! (:**

**Before She Knew**

Tony stood at his locker, while jamming his head into it. He looked at the time. _7:00._ School starts in a half an hour. He had a mess of textbooks, papers, folders, and all his school supplies on the floor near his locker. On the top of his row of lockers was an assorted mess of machinery parts. On the floor next to his books was a jug of water, just big enough to fit in his locker. He was installing a mini water fountain to his locker, while Rhodey came early to get some help in his English class. Tony picked up all the parts off the top of the locker, and installed them into his locker. Next, he took out the cup holder from his backpack. After he had everything installed, and working properly, he took the gallon of water, and put it in place. When he checked the time again, he saw that it was 7:25. Then he heard a startling noise coming from outside his locker.

"Hey, Tony! What are you doing here early? And where's Rhodey?" It was Pepper. Tony jumped, startled at her presence, and bumped his head on his locker on his head's way out.

"OWWW! That hurt. Hey, Pepper.," Tony said, rubbing his head. "Rhodey's getting extra help in English, so I'm giving my locker an actual purpose." Tony said, in his usual, all-knowing voice.

"What are you gonna do with all your stuff if your locker has that thing In it?" Pepper asked, pointing to his mess on the floor.

"Oh, and you do know you have to clean that up, right?" Pepper said, walking towards it. Tony followed her to the pile of junk and started cleaning it.

"Yeah, I'm working on that. And I don't need them. I'll just bring them back to my room." Tony said, shoving it into his backpack.

"Well, whatever, all I can think about is Iron Man! He…..It? Is so…..like a knight in shining armor to me. I wish I could meet him, ooooh I want to meet him so bad!" Pepper tried to stop talking. Tony jumped through the ceiling. She didn't know that Tony was actually Iron Man, but she _liked _Iron Man. Not just like. _**Like **_liked him. Tony started choking on his words.

"Oh…..aahhh yeah, i heard-" But Pepper didn't let him finish.

"He's tottaly awesome. And he's red. Ooh, red is my favorite color!" Pepper stated, romantically. Tony could barely speak, at all. He was _shocked_.

"Yeah, ahh well, I'm kinda-" Tony started to explain, but failed when he was interrupted by Pepper—again.

"Oh! He's so cool. But I'm gonna go to class now. I don't wanna be _late_, like someone else I know." She smiled and walked off.

"Bye Tony!" She quickly bellowed, as walking off. Tony started walking to his own class, still shocked and stunned.

Later, Tony and Rhodey were alone on the roof after school.

"Hey, what's wrong? You seem, I don't know…panicky." Rhodey asked.

"Well, it's just that-well, Pepper kinda…..likes Iron Man…." Tony choked on the words. It was so hard to believe. What would happen if she found out about Tony being Iron Man? _That_ would be akward.

"You mean she likes you?" Rhodey said, laughing.

"No, she likes Iron Man. Not me, she doesn't know it's me." Tony said, still panicky.

"Oh, well then _that's_ going to be akward…." Rhodey said, wanting Pepper to find out, to see what would happen. He saw their growing romance. He knew it was going to happen sometime.

"Yeah. I don't know what to do." The day went on, and soon the two got off the roof and went home. Pepper was still thinking about Iron Man. The way his voice sounded when she heard it on the news. It sounded **really **familiar, but she couldn't figure out who it sounded like. She played the voice in her head, and ran through all the voices she knew.

"Not Rhodey, Not Happy. Not Gene, Not Stane. Maybe….what about Tony?" She finished her scan with the right answer. But, she failed to believe it.

"It does sound like Tony! I would recognize that sweet, smart, sensitive, caring, cute……" She trailed off, but stopped at cute. A thought ran through her head.

_You hold me, when I hold you, and it feels like magic. The way you treat me, differently than everyone else, like I'm something more than them. It makes me think, think, do I know? That I love you._ She stopped when her mind read her the word **love.** She did _not_ love him, they were just friends.

Weren't they?

Pepper managed to think this while she was running from armed thugs, talking to that sweet, sweet voice she was thinking of.

"Pepper, It's Tony, I'm on the highway with Rhodey, are you?" He spat, softly and calmly into his phone.

"Running, in the city, GUNS!" She spat, panicked and scared. She explained. Good thing she had a thing for words. _And Tony._ Her mind tried to get her thinking it, but she pushed the thought away.

Soon enough, she was on the main roads of New York city, trying to escape guns and vans. All the sudden, she felt something coming behind her, swooping her up, away from danger. It was _him._ The 'Night in shining armor'. He soon started speaking that same familiar voice. _It has to be Tony._ She started questioning.

"Relax, I know it's you, I'm not stupid. My dad _is_ a professional investigator, remember?" She stated, cleverly. He seemed to give in. She was happy to see the face that was saving her.

"How did you know?" He asked, very suspicious. If she knew it was him all along, then was she saying she liked him? Oh, crap. But what if…..

He liked her back? He wondered. Did he?

As they flew on, Tony asked a question.

"Hey, one question. The other day, you said when red was your favorite color, uhh….well…does that mean, that you…" He didn't have to finish.

"Like you?" She finished, knowing absolutely what he was saying. Then was it, when they realized how close their faces were.

They could find themselves wanting to pull away.

They just stayed there, for what seemed like forever. Soon, Pepper broke the ice.

"Well….that was when I didn't know it was you. I-I didn't mean to scare you….." She couldn't find the right words. Mostly because, she knew that what she wanted to tell him, she didn't have the courage to tell him.

She _likes _him. But, the better part-whether he knows it or not, he likes her too. They were both too scared to admit it.

"Yeah….ahh, that's ok….you ahh, didn't know…" Tony said, clearing his throat the whole sentence.

"Yeah….ahh…..well, ahh, there's Rhodey's house…..better, aahh…drop me off." Pepper choked on her words in the same way. For once, she couldn't talk.

Tony sat on his bed, remembering that day, like he remembered the back of his hand. Neither one had forgotten it, but now—now was different. They were more than ready, Pepper was more than in need of someone hugging her, telling her it's ok to cry. She sat there, next to him, alone in Tony's room, Pepper on the verge of tears.

"Hey, It's alright to cry." Tony tried calming her depressed nerves, and she just buried her head into his warming hug. Tony just hugged her back. He couldn't blame her one bit. Gene was good with emotions, and he had tangled Pepper's quite well.

"It's ok. Forget he was ever here. Forget you ever tried to make peace. If it's anyone you should be mad at, it's me." He spat out the last part, but he knew what he meant. Pepper lifted her head, but didn't move anything else.

"Why?" She said, so faintly, it was almost a whisper.

"Because, you were right. Your dad's investigation was right, you were right about Gene. I'm sorry." Tony may have thought he was making things worse, but that sentence, it said everything.

"Tony….if I was right about Gene, then what about Whitney?" Pepper brought it up, so they talked about it.

"Well, you're probably right about her, too. I don't know, she can't remember anything from when she was sick. But now I think I know why you hate her so much….." Tony was a little scared to tell her.

"Why?" Pepper asked, shocked.

"Because she hates you, she told me. And because whenever she comes around, you start to feel like she's trying to have me all to herself. And honestly, she is _really _clingy. It kinda scares me." Tony told her, not even nervous about what he was saying.

All Pepper could say, was the truth.

"Yes, that's exactly it. It makes me mad, the way she makes sure you never hear it. Tony…….." She put her head back into his chest and heard his steady, mechanic, beating heart. It comforted her, and she stopped crying, almost instantly. Tony placed his warm hand on Pepper's head, and petted it softly.

"Tony, i….." Pepper tried to tell him. _Sssshhh _was all he told her. Calm down, let it out.

"I know, Pepper, you do, and I do too. Just let it out." He could read her mind, she swore he could. She picked her head up, now full of energy, and they grabbed hands. He looked down at me, and as I sat next to him, my head on his shoulder, he met Pepper in a kiss. The soft touch of his lips against hers made her forget that she was ever crushed that way.

"Thanks for calming me down, I think I'm okay now. Can we just, go get something for lunch?" Pepper said, happy and perky, back to her normal self. Tony had lifted her spirit, and promised to never let it go.


End file.
